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Microsoft is running a channel-focused sales and marketing campaign with advice on how partners can get customers who've switched from Office 365 to Google Apps to come back.

In Microsoft document viewed by CRN, the software giant describes the effort as "the first Google compete campaign launched officially for use by Microsoft partners" and says it's aimed at organizations with between 10 and 100 users.

In the document, Microsoft offers advice on how a partner could talk a potential Google Apps customer into signing up for Office 365 instead:

Imagine this scenario: You’re on a plane back home after a week away for work. The person sitting next to you notices that you’re using Windows 8 and strikes up a conversation about working while on the road. In this conversation, you learn that your seatmate is considering Google Apps for Business but is concerned about being able to access the same information on the road as in the office -- this person is apparently on the road quite a bit. As you close your budget forecast and save to your SkyDrive folder, you think, "THIS is a great opportunity to suggest a deeper conversation about choosing Microsoft Office 365."

There is also advice on how to identify the telltale signs that a Google Apps customer might be dissatisfied with what they're getting from the product:

Imagine this scenario: You’re attending a monthly meeting of other entrepreneurs and small business owners, and you begin talking to someone who, about three months ago, signed up for Google Apps. That person opens up a bit about some of their dissatisfaction around the support and service they’re getting since they’ve signed up for Google Apps for Business. THIS is a great opportunity to suggest a deeper conversation about switching to Microsoft Office 365.

The campaign appears to have debuted last September and is slated to run until the end of Microsoft's fiscal year on June 30, though Microsoft wasn't available to confirm this. Google didn't respond to a request for comment.

While Microsoft's share of the cloud productivity software market dwarfs Google's, the fact that Microsoft has created a channel program for competing with Google Apps shows it's concerned about the direction things are heading in the small business market, where software decisions often come down to pricing.

Google Apps For Business costs $50 per user annually, while Microsoft's cheapest Office 365 plan for businesses is $60 per user annually for up to 25 users, and $180 per user annually for organizations with 26 to 300 users.